Zoning Slays Auto Dealer's Dragon

OLD SAYBROOK — December was a good month financially for a local Kia dealership, even though its inflatable advertising was first blown away by nature and later punctured by the town.

Brad Kniedl, general manager of the Kia dealership since the end of November, wanted to direct more attention recently to the car showroom on Route 154. Drawing from his experience at other dealerships, in December he rented a 25-foot inflatable penguin.

He'd worked at dealerships in New London, Franklin and Milford, where huge balloon monkeys were a hit. Kniedl rented the penguin for the Old Saybrook dealership from a company called Balloons Over Rhode Island. The company's inflatables lease for about $1,200 a month, he said.

The automotive mall's regulations allow renters of the properties to erect anything that doesn't exceed the height of the buildings, Kniedl said Monday.

``I liked that penguin a lot,'' said Kneidl, who displayed the immense bird in front of the showroom and enjoyed giving directions to Kia by saying, ``You can't miss us. There's a big penguin in front.''

But large inflatable birds are not looked on so kindly by the local zoning department. Chris Costa, the local zoning enforcement officer, said many businesses such as the Kia dealership don't know such gimmicks are prohibited in town. She has had to order other inflatables deflated in the past.

Costa was about to tell Kia to take the air out of its bird, when bad weather did the job.

High winds accompanying a storm about two weeks ago ``literally blew the penguin apart,'' Kniedl said.

``I thought, `Good, that problem's solved,''' Costa said Monday.

Then, she saw the purple dragon.

``When the penguin was destroyed, the only thing left to rent was the dragon,'' said Kneidl, who got to sport that inflatable advertising balloon for only a week.

On Dec. 31, Costa wrote Kneidl, explaining anything not specifically permitted in the town's zoning regulations is prohibited. That included 25-foot-high inflatable purple dragons.

By the weekend, the dragon was deflated and sent back to Rhode Island.

``The law's the law; I respect that,'' said Kneidl, who does take comfort in his sales figures.

December sales quadrupled over November's ``and December is usually a slow month,'' he said.